Norway's bank to sell its stake in Adani Ports

Norges Bank, Norway’s central bank, has decided to exclude Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone from its government pension fund over ethical concerns. This means the $1.7-trillion fund will sell its remaining stake in Adani Ports.
The Norwegian pension fund invests in equities and bonds across most countries and markets. In a statement, Norges Bank said it has decided to exclude Adani Ports due to “unacceptable risk that the company contributes to serious violations of individuals’ rights in situations of war or conflict”. The port operator, part of billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate, has been under its watch list since March 2022 and that “observation now ends given the exclusion decision”.
Norges Bank said its decision to exclude Adani Ports from the fund’s portfolio was based on recommendations from Council On Ethics. COE is an independent body that makes recommendations to Norges Bank to either exclude companies from the pension fund or place them under observation. In a statement, the COE said that Adani Ports was under observation “due to its business association with the armed forces in Myanmar”, which in Feb 2021 staged a military coup.
The Indian company was involved with a port terminal in Myanmar, incurring an investment of $150 million. In May 2023, the company disclosed that it sold the Myanmar port to Solar Energy. The COE noted that no information on the buyer is available, and Adani Ports has stated that it cannot share any such information on the grounds of confidentiality.